Frustrated Bristol resident says First Bus is a cancer on the region

Passengers have voiced anger at unreliable First Bus services in Bristol with one person describing it as "a cancer" on the region.

They addressed a council meeting held by the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) on Thursday.

Last week, First Bus announced the "temporary" cancellation of 1,450 bus journeys per week across the city.

It said it was desperately short of drivers which had resulted in it struggling to meet its own timetables.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Weca, which is responsible for strategic transport, had urged drastic action to solve the crisis.

Bristol West's Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire described the cancellations to more than a dozen routes as "the apparent collapse of Bristol's public transport system".

Meanwhile passengers spoke of the devastating impact on an already crumbling network.

Joe Aldous told the Weca audit committee meeting: "Every morning I have to walk five miles to work because the three buses that are supposedly meant to operate to get me in for 9am never run."

"My mental health is deteriorating as I waste my life away waiting for buses that never come - explaining to my boss why I'm late, losing my whole evening to the sands of time because you don't care one iota about what's going on.

"First Bus, you are a cancer and nothing more.

"Public transport is meant to be a lifeline to so many, and you don't even come close to delivering."

First Bus said it was "extremely sorry" for the problems and said the reduction in services would make services more reliable in the meantime.

Another resident, Katherine Anthony, said the lack of decent transport in Bristol was "shocking" and that she would be forced to buy a car because of the stress of her daily six-mile (about 9.6km) journey from her home in Whitchurch to Redland.

A First West of England spokesperson said it recognised the disruption the changes would cause to their customers.

"The very last thing any transport operator wants to do is reduce or cut services.

"We are doing our utmost to address the driver shortage with an active recruitment campaign."

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